Dancing With the Stars‘ Connor Woodis quickstepping past chatter about his friendship with dance partner Rylee Arnold.
In fact, the comedian also known as Fibulahad a hilarious response when DWTS pro Ezra Sosapressed him about fans “shipping” the pair to take their chemistry off the dance floor and date in real life.
“What do you say?” Sosa teased on a TikTok Live during the ABC dance competition series’ Nov. 10 broadcast, prompting Wood to briefly stumble on his words before quipping, “I say, ‘Thank you for watching.'”
Besides, Wood has made it clear about his actual celeb crush. After all, the 31-year-old was kicking himself when he recently found out that he had once unintentionally snubbedJennifer Lawrence.
“I saw you on 8th avenue drinking a smoothie and you paid me no mind,” Lawrence commented on one of Wood’s social media videos, prompting him to pretend to choke himself in an Oct. 21 TikTok before adding, “This is rolling around in my head.”
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Jennifer Lawrence’s Reaction to Being Connor Wood’s Celeb Crush Is Straight Out of Her Playbook
As for where Arnold stands with Wood? The 21-year-old—who’s been dating college football starWalker Lyonsince 2024—considers the two to be great friends.
“It just feels natural,” Arnold told Entertainment Weekly in last month. “I think naturally we just have so much fun together. We feel comfortable with each other.”
Wood agreed, adding that “it was an act of God that we were paired together.”
“We don’t really have any missed connects,” he continued. “We have this connection that isn’t really faulted by like, ‘Oh, I can’t get this step,’ or ‘I can’t do this move.’”
And though their close bond has left many fans head over heels, Arnold has assured that it’s “just dancing.”
“I’ve grown up being close to a man’s face since I was 10 years old. Honestly, it’s just second nature,” she told TV Insider in September. “To have that chemistry helps you get through the dance, get through the steps.”
But while Wood and Arnold’s partnership is strictly platonic, read on forDWTS couples who tangoed into a romance.
Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty ImagesGleb Savchenko & Brooks NaderThe season 33 partners dated for about seven months between 2024 and spring 2025.Johnny Louis/Getty ImagesEmma Slater & Alan BerstenIn April 2025, the fellow DWTS pros kissed on the lips onstage on the final night of the series’ 2025 tour during their show-closing duet dance, confirming months of romance rumors.InstagramBritt Stewart & Daniel DurantMonths after placing fifth in the 31st season of the dance show, the couple confirmed their romance on Valentine’s Day 2023. “My Valentine,” the CODA actor captioned a selfie with the choreographer. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Stewart and Durant then announced their engagement in December 2023 and married in front of a trouple of DWTS pros in August 2025.Adam Taylor/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty ImagesAlek Skarlatos & Emma SlaterWhile she was partnered with Hayes Grier, the two hit it off during season 21’s Switch Up Week, with Skarlatos calling the pro dancer “so hot.” After her elimination, Slater teased that they two had yet to go on a date, saying, “We’ll see.”
Meanwhile, Skarlatos playfully told E! News, “No comment!”Unique Nicole/Getty Images for CAPESasha Farber & Jenn TranThe dance pro and Bachelorette alum were romantically linked while competing together on DWTS’ season 33 in 2024. However, their offscreen chemistry fizzled out by June 2025 shortly after Tran returned to Miami to finish her master’s degree.Steve Granitz/WireImageEmma Slater & Sasha FarberWhich bring us to these two. After dating a little on-and-off since 2011, the pros got engaged live on the show in October 2016 and were married in March 2018. However, E! News confirmed in August 2022 that Slater and Farber were going their separate ways after four years of marriage.
“It’s not a nightmare at all,” Slater told E! News. “We support each other so much that I want the very best for Sasha. We support each other, very, very truly.”Michael Tullberg/Getty ImagesVal Chmerkovskiy & Jenna JohnsonChmerkovskiy and Johnson were dating in 2015, before she was promoted to pro dancer. They got engaged in June of 2018 before making it official and walking down the aisle in April of 2019. The two welcomed son Rome Valentin in January 2023.
“Life is awesome,” Chmerkovskiy told E! News in May 2023. Becoming a dad “definitely elevated my joy for life, my joy for my family, and every day I learn something new being a father.”InstagramChrishell Stause & Keo MotsepeIn December 2020, E! News learned the Selling Sunset star was dating the Dancing With the Stars pro after they had competed separately on season 29.
However, after two months of dating, E! News exclusively confirmed they had called it quits. At the time, a source close to the realtor said, “They had a fun time together but in the end, decided it would be best if they part ways. They are still friendly and cordial. It wasn’t a messy breakup, just wasn’t the right fit or right timing.” Craig Sjodin via Getty ImagesNikki Garcia & Artem ChigvintsevPlatonic throughout their seventh-place-finishing 2017 run, the Total Bellas star and the former Dancing With the Stars pro found their way back to each other after her split from John Cena in 2018. Garcia confirmed her relationship with Chigvintsev in May 2019, and they got engaged later that year.
The WWE Hall of Famer learned she was expecting soon after their Paris engagement, with them welcoming son Matteo Artemovich Chigvintsev in 2020.
Sadly, though, the pair are no longer partnering up. Garcia filed for divorce in September 2024, two weeks after Chigvintsev was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. Ultimately, the Napa County District Attorney’s office announced they decided not to file charges against him “after a thorough review of the criminal investigation and careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA’s Office.”
The pair settled their divorce in November 2024, with Garcia’s rep noting the two also dropped their “the domestic violence restraining orders against each other in an effort to move on with their lives and effectively co-parent their son.”Craig Sjodin/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty ImagesAlexis Ren & Alan BerstenThe model and the relatively new pro flirted up a storm throughout season 27, and Ren had admitted on the show that she had a crush on him. At the time, a source even told E! News that they “really enjoy each other’s company” and were “seeing where things go.”
However, multiple outlets reported in December 2018 that the pair had split.Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Great Wolf Lodge EntertainmentPeta Murgatroyd & Maksim ChmerkovskiyThe professional dancers got engaged on Dec. 5, 2015, after dating since 2012. Maks proposed onstage at the SWAY: A Dance Trilogy event in Miami. Six months after welcoming their son Shai, the lovebirds exchanged vows during a lavish ceremony in July 2017. They then welcomed baby Rio in June 2023 and their third son Milan in July 2024.BRIAN LINDENSMITH/Patrick McMullan via Getty ImagesSabrina Bryan & Mark BallasThe partners struck up a romance in season five, but broke up a few months after their shocking exit. Still, Bryan and Ballas remained friendly, with The Cheetah Girls star even returning to the ballroom to cheer for him the following season.Ray Tamarra/GC ImagesJames Maslow & Peta MurgatroydFunnily enough, the duo had gone out on several dates before he even signed up for the show. And while they denied any romance rumors during season 18, that didn’t stop them from playing up their chemistry during performances.Craig Sjodin/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty ImagesRobert Herjavec & Kym JohnsonSoon after the Shark Tank star announced he was separating from his wife of 14 years Diane Plese, sources confirmed to E! News that he and Kym Johnson, his pro partner from season 20, were dating and “really happy together.”
While Robert and Kym at first played coy about the nature of their relationship, that quickly stopped. They were engaged in February 2016, married by June 2016, and welcomed twins in April 2018. Adam Larkey/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty ImagesMario Lopez & Karina SmirnoffPartnered in season three, the Saved by the Bell alum quickly struck up a romance with the dance pro, which went on for two years before they called it off for good in 2008. “The relationship wasn’t heading in the right direction,” Smirnoff’s rep said in a statement, after rumors of infidelity on Lopez’s part.Getty Images/Bruce Glikas / ContributorKarina Smirnoff & Maksim ChmerkovskiyThe professional dancers got engaged in 2009 after six months of dating following her split from Mario Lopez. Sadly, they called it off later that same year. But the duo remained friendly, even going on vacations together.Unique Nicole/Getty ImagesDaniella Karagach & Pasha PashkovMarried since 2014, the pros announced the arrival of their daughter Nikita in May 2023.
Daniella shared the happy news by posting a photo and video of Pasha with Nikita to Instagram Stories. She wrote “daddy’s girl” alongside the clip and “My Geminis” beside the picture.Michael Desmond/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty ImagesShannon Elizabeth & Derek HoughAfter showing off their insane chemistry during the sixth season, the duo dated for nearly a year before announcing their 2009 breakup in the most cordial way ever: matching tweets! “Hi everyone, we wanted you all to know directly from us, that Shannon & I have decided to end our relationship as boyfriend & girlfriend…,” Hough tweeted that August, with Elizabeth writing, “However, we love and care about each other very much and will remain friends and in each others lives.”
Derek is now married to his dance partner Hayley Erbert.For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
